


good old war

by advantagetexas



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Julia lived magnus didnt au, based on art by insertdisc5, its a lot more sad than that jovial tag makes it sound, magic time cup shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 10:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9890165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/advantagetexas/pseuds/advantagetexas
Summary: “Two days after Magnus suddenly cancelled his trip,” the cup, using June’s little voice, crooned, looking up at Julia expectantly, as if wanting something from her, “Governer Callen attacked Raven’s Roost. Magnus was the first one to die."





	

**Author's Note:**

> so this is dually inspired, both by the song [coney island](https://youtu.be/I7NA4PcKT1Y) by good old war and by [this comic](http://insertdisc5.tumblr.com/post/157353127580) by the super talented insertdisc5 on tumblr, like seriously, i loved this comic so much, its been on my mind for like, three days straight

          “Two days after Magnus suddenly cancelled his trip,” the cup, using June’s little voice, crooned, looking up at Julia expectantly, as if wanting something from her, “Governer Callen attacked Raven’s Roost. Magnus was the first one to die. And just before he ran off to fight Callen for the last time, he said something, didn’t he?”

          “He…he said…” Julia manages to stutter, looking down at her feet as if it’s stop the aching in her head, only to jolt upright as the cup- no, as _June_ -shows her the last thing she ever wanted to remember. Magnus, his everlasting smile still plastered across his face, but not reaching all the way to his eyes. He’s grabbing her, well, the other her’s shoulders, his grip tight as if he’s afraid she’ll fly away in the light wind.

          “Everything will turn out alright this time, Jules,” she hears herself saying, as the vision of Magnus mouths the same words, and then it just…clicks.

          “Oh, Maggie,” she whispers, falling to her knees next to June. “Magnus, why? Why me?” She reaches up to wipe away a tear from her own cheek, wicking it away only for another to immediately take its place.

          “He loved you, Julia,” the cup says, looking down at her with something almost like pity. “He changed everything for you.”

          “He was…he was here,” Julia says, and June just nods.

          “I gave him the same choice I’m giving you now. You can go back, you can change it if you’d like, but you get one shot.”

          “Yes, god, yes, anything,” Julia says, and just before she blacks out, she thinks she almost sees the cup smirk.

\---------------------------

          It’s the birds that wake her up first. A raven, ironically, cawing outside the window. Julia sits up, opening her eyes to see the soft first light of dawn filtering in through the window, the curtains fluttering slightly in the light breeze. She looks down, seeing herself not in her adventuring gear, not the boots Taako had stolen from Merle’s dead uncle (or cousin? She was never quite sure), not with the Railsplitter she had gotten from the magical gachapon machine, not with the overlarge tattered feathered and fur cloak she had ripped off of Magnus’s corpse during the wake before she had fled from the ruins of Raven’s Roost for the last time. No, Julia sees herself in a light blue summer dress, thin muslin instead of thick leather. She feels the side of her chin, the skin smooth under her fingers, not a scar in sight.

          She swings her feet over the side of the bed and pads out to the living room, where she sees the front door open, and Magnus outside, loading up the wagon for his trip. She walks out, the dirt warm under her feet, reaching out for him, almost grasping. He turns around just before she gets to him, and smiles that big, goofy smile of his, the happiness reaching all the way to his eyes, as he envelops her in a tight hug, his arms around her shoulders. She holds him tightly to her, burying her face in his chest. He still smells a bit like the lavender he’d been using on the chair and it almost brings her to tears.

          “Mornin’ Jules. Sorry if I woke you, I was trying to be as quiet as possible, I know it’s early,” he says sheepishly into her hair, smoothing it down and resting his chin in the midst of all the fluff.

          “It’s okay, Maggie. I wanted to see you before you left anyway,” she says nonchalantly, as if she didn’t know what was going to happen.

          He hesitates for a second, his smile faltering just a little. “I dunno, I’m kinda having second thoughts about this trip,” he says, pulling away from her. “Something just doesn’t jive right with me about it.”

          “No, I think you should go,” Julia says after a moment of consideration. “It’s part of your dream, and you should always follow your dreams.” Magnus snorts at that, obviously amused.

          “You sound like a life coach,” he jokes, pressing a kiss to her forehead before lifting his prized chair into the wagon bed. “But, if you think it’s a good idea then it’s a good idea.”

          “My intuition’s never wrong,” Julia replies with a halfhearted chuckle that Magnus misses entirely. Magnus turns back to her one last time after securing the wagon, holding her in another tight hug. She returns it the best she can, just managing to keep it together when he pulls away and walks to the front of the wagon. She follows him, standing by the side as he adjusts the reigns and the seat.

          “I’ll be back soon, I promise,” he says, and she can’t help but smile, though not for the reason everyone would think. Yes, he’d be back soon. The real Magnus, the way things were supposed to be. The way fate wanted them to be.

          “I know,” she says softly, giving his shoulder one last pat for good luck. “I love you, Magnus.”

          “I love you too, Jules,” he says with another soft smile, before looking down at the horses and spurring them on. As the dust begins to settle as he drives away, she can’t help but think that she’s forgotten something. It hits her like a brick wall, and she starts to sprint after the wagon, her feet digging into the warm soil as she yells “Wait, wait!” while waving her arms. Magnus stops the wagon and waits for her to catch up, slightly out of breath from the sprint.

          “If you…if you see that elf, the one with the cooking show,” Julia says, knowing full well that this won’t make sense to Magnus now, or even a year from now. It may not ever make sense, but she has to try. “Tell him…tell him I loved his recipes.”

          Magnus smiles, and just nods. “Of course, I’ll totally remember that.”

          “I know you will,” Julia says with a smile, before waving him off again as he starts on his way.

          “It’s meant to be this way,” a little voice that sounds eerily like June says in the back of her head.

          “I know,” Julia replies simply, smiling as she sees the wagon cross out of her vision. She turns back toward the house, the sun shining down on her face as she holds it high. She remembers the nights she’d spent at the Bureau, all the people she’d helped. She remembered her and Taako and Merle and Angus all celebrating the sick stunt she’d pulled on the Rockport Limited. She remembered her pride after pulling the Railsplitter from the magical gachapon machine. She remembered the years she’d spent at Merle and Taako’s side, and all the fun they’d had and all the goofs they’d pulled. They were her family. Maybe not by blood or by marriage, but they were by choice. They were the best family she could have hoped for.

          “Treat them good, Maggie,” she whispers, almost to herself as she finally reaches her front door and goes inside. She yawns and stretches, before heading back into the bedroom to get changed for the day. There was a finite amount of time left, but she was going to make the best of it. Afterall, there’s no good reason to waste a sunny day.

 


End file.
